Mike Eli took Vocals & Guitar, James Young played Guitar, Jon Jones popped the Bass, and Chris Thompson crushed the Drums, as the Eli Young Band took the stage at the Grizzly Rose in Denver on Friday night.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Out of Denton, Texas, Eli Young Band has survived the current Bro Country fiasco and has heartfelt songs that are easily relate-able. EYB took the audience through a ride of older tunes to news ones as well. Crowd favorites included Guinevere, When It Rains, Crazy Girl, Drunk Last Night, Even If It Breaks Your Heart, and Always the Love Songs. The band had fun performing all over the stage, including up on the band risers. Fans packed the stage and stretched the walls to the limit as the concert helped kick off the National Western Stock Show. Eli struggled at times with the vocals, but the party crowd aided the sound by belting out the hits right along with him.

Nathan Dean & The Damn Band is four-piece band that has been on the road since 2008. They kicked off the show on Friday night as they close out a two-week stay at the Grizzly Rose. Based out of Phoenix, Nathan Dean & The Damn Band play 48 weeks a year, averaging 150-175 shows a year. They have traveled as far west as Oxnard, CA, as far east as Cincinnati, and everywhere in between. They play everywhere and leave a bevy of hung over, scratchy-voiced, country music fans in a mess. Some friends call them The Most Famous Band You’ve Never Heard Of. They have opened for many of today’s stars. John Mayer joined them on stage in Jackson Hole, WY, for their entire last set. (It’s on YouTube). The Grizzly Rose is definitely one of their favorite clubs across the country to play.

They played Classic Country, Mama Tried along with Fishing in the Dark, and mixed in some Red Dirt with Oklahoma Breakdown and Kiss Me in the Dark. They also featured original music, When I’m Gone, and told fans to look for an upcoming release in the near future. For more information, check their website at www.nathandean.net.

Hudson Moore, from Ft. Worth, TX, and currently residing in Austin, was sandwiched between these two prodigious bands. Moore is an up and coming musician with a recent release of Some Are. His biggest response was when he sang Thomas Rhett’s tune, Die A Happy Man.

Moore took command of the stage, his guitar and his voice, as he powered through his set of unfamiliar songs. Maybe big things will happen for this guy, but it also feels like there are a million Hudson Moore’s trying to make it big in an ever-changing, often cold and unfriendly, Country Music world. Best of luck to this kid! Follow his progress at www.hudsonmoore.net.